What's a good intermediate and decent price bass???

Hey, I've got a Samick Silvertone(red) and I don't like it too much. I bought it off my bro just because I needed a bass in a hurry and was short on cash. So, I was wondering what a decently priced 4-string for an intermediate player would cost. Think you guys could help me out? Thanks.

Good basses are everywhere, but here are a few that I like.
Fender Standard Basses are good, both the Jazz and the Precision. Ibanez basses aren't to bad for the money, and are pretty popular. I think that Peavey basses for the money are also pretty good.
I'm not the best luthier, but here are a few things that could be wrong with your bass...
-The a string might have been cut too short and didn't wrap far enough down your tuning peg and thus there isn't enough pressure on the nut to keep the string tight.
-another problem could be that your neck or bridge needs adjustment, and for this, dont do anything majo, I would leave that to a professional.
-Or it could be that the bass is a p.o.s. and that you need a new one asap.

Coming from another self-proclaimed punk with very little cash, i'm with Jim on the MIM Fender Jazz or Precision. I have the Jazz, myself, and it sounds great with punk (or atleast what i precieve as punk....you seem to like Blink ). Oi, go used!

I also say go with a Fender MIM Jazz or precision. I just got the MIM jazz as a backup and it is great. Plus, you can always upgrade it later if you want. The rattling noise you talked about is probably a problem with the setup (bridge and neck). You can read about how to setup a bass on a lot of websites. If you don't know what youre doing though, it might be better to take it to a professional.

The MIM line is great (I got a jazz), but if you look on ebay, you can find a great steal on used american p'a, great for punk music. I just paid $400 for a '96 black p, there is a late 70's p going for $360, somebody pick that up, its a steal

I don't agree with rickbass1 on the amp thing. A crapy bass still won't sound good through a good amp. The "Sound" is 70%-75% the BASS. You can prove this fact the next time your in a music store. Spend the cash on a bass. So far the best sounding and playing bass I've seen for around $600.00 is the Conklin GT-4. Check it out before you buy!

Originally posted by Groove I don't agree with rickbass1 on the amp thing. A crapy bass still won't sound good through a good amp. The "Sound" is 70%-75% the BASS. You can prove this fact the next time your in a music store. Spend the cash on a bass.

I'd still rather play a Rogue through an SWR/Eden than an Alembic Series II plugged into Burger King's drive-thru speaker.

Thanks guys. I'll probably have to go with an MIM Fender. Oh, and when I said I didn't know what kinda amp I have, it's not that it's a crappy amp, Im just not sure what kind it is, I never look. Thanks again.

Sorry, Groove, I'm with rickbass1 on this. A dog bass will sound way better through an Eden rig, than a Sadowsky will through a Samick amp. I run the bass dept at a music shop, and so I see this happening all the time.

I think it really depends on the quality of the amp. If he has a half decent amp I say go for a bass first. I think that the only situation you should go for an amp first if your amp is really bottom of the barrel.

But you also have to take into consideration that you are in a band and if you are gigging (says you just started but I dont know) then you should look into an amp cuz whats the point of a great bass if you can't hear it.

Used will be your best bet to get a great instrument at an affordable price. Don't concern yourself with appearance. If your band is punk, tone doesn't matter too much either. And don't be fooled by brand name. I bought a p-bass rip off that sounds and feels better than a "real" classic p-bass through the same amps. Check out what feels best. Keep in mind that you going to have to get used to playing standing up with a heavy instrument wrapped across your neck. If the bass feels good on your hands and your back, and the price is right, buy it. You can always buy something better later on. As far as the amp/guitar combo for sound... it truly is a combo. Your tone will change any time you change anything with the equipment or the set up.